MARCH 7 — In the past few days, almost everyone around the world has been watching closely the unfolding tension in the Middle East, the conflict involving the United States (US), Israel and Iran, which has led to the effective closure of one of the most important straits in the world, the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow (20-52 nautical miles wide) but crucial
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By Cao Yin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2026-02-27 19:28
Chinese courts concluded 168,000 maritime cases during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), providing robust legal protection and judicial momentum for promoting high-quality development of the marine economy, an official from the top court said on Friday.
Shen Hongyu, chief judge of the Supreme People's Court's Fourth Civil Division, told a news conference that these cases involved not only maritime cargo transportation, freight forwarding, ship sales, shipbuilding and repair, marine insurance, and lease financing, but also port operations, channel dredging, dock engineering, aquaculture, and seafarers' labor contracts.
She said the number of cases related to new types of marine productivity, such as offshore wind power and deep-sea aquaculture, is increasing year by year and
MARAD
On February 28th, significant military activity commenced in the geographic areas listed above. It is recommended that vessels keep clear of this area if possible. Any U.S.-flagged, owned, or crewed commercial vessels that are operating in these areas should maintain a standoff of 30 nautical miles from U.S. military vessels to reduce the risk of being mistaken as a threat and are strongly encouraged to maintain close contact with Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) Naval Coordination and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) and review the latest UKMTO and Joint Maritime Information Center Advisories at https://www.ukmto.org/ukmto-products/advisories/2026 and https://www.ukmto.org/partner-products/jmic-products. The risk mitigation measures addressed in U.S. Maritime Advisory 2026-001 (Iranian Illegal Boarding/Detention/Seizure – Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman) should also be reviewed
23 February 2026
Nautilus International is marking the 20th anniversary of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) – a landmark ‘fourth pillar’ of international maritime law – by highlighting the real, hard‑won improvements it has delivered for seafarers’ lives at sea and ashore.
Adopted on 23 February 2006, the MLC brought together more than 60 fragmented maritime instruments into a single, enforceable framework. Since then, Nautilus and its global partners have used the convention to lift minimum standards, close loopholes and push for continuous improvement in seafarers’ working and living conditions.
Concrete wins for seafarers
Over the last two decades, sustained union pressure within the MLC’s structures has helped secure: